After counting and excusing the pain suffered on account of his beloved, the last words of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 40 beg the beloved: “we must not be foes.” The Bard recognizes that the most intense romance quickly can become war. In our own lives, just as in Sonnet 40, those we love, those who have “take[n] all our loves” have a singular ability to hurt us and thus become our enemy.
War less often becomes love, with two warring nations becoming the best allies. Yet, war does presuppose many varieties of love beyond romantic love: love of country, love of fellow soldier, love of family and friends, and so on. In the heat of war, an army’s most proudly patriotic chants rise; in the death of a fellow soldier, other soldiers feel a heightened love for him in his absence. As love is wont to devolve into war, sometimes, war, in all its atrocity and dumb violence, brings love into relief.
Beginning in the early modern period with the poetry of Shakespeare and John Donne and ending with present-day poets like Derek Walcott and Louise Gluck, we’ll immerse ourselves in the heart of war and love, comparing these two perennial realities.
Come join our lunch reading and discussion as we unravel the intricacies linking love and war. No prior reading required. No literary background required. Food provided.
Led by James Prather
Email jprather@houstoninstitute.org, if interested.
